We went against running in the Coral Welsh National when it got rearranged because I thought there’s only a week until Warwick where there will be less runners, the ground will be better, and it will give him a better chance to get an extreme trip for the very first time.

I am very happy with him. I would love a higher rated horse in the race so we could get 11 stone rather than 11.11 but they’re all carrying the weights relative to their handicap mark.

It’s very competitive but I’m happy with him and these long distance chases were on the agenda this year.

Finally I have Allonok in the 4.05pm. He is a typical baby but a great big chasing type of horse. It’s taken a long time to get him here as I’d hoped to have run in him in the autumn.

He’ll run nicely but I reckon there will be some sharper types in the race than him.

At Kempton, we start off with Spiritofthegames in the Lanzarote at 2.40pm and I think he will be competitive.

He took me by surprise when he won at Lingfield and he showed a really good attitude. He has taken a good step forward since then. This is a much deeper race though.

Hurricane Hollow runs in the 3.45pm. He didn’t run too badly the other day until turning in and maybe he just missed a bit of match practice over hurdles.

The race has cut up a little and although I think he’s still a way off winning, I can see him running alright.

We also run One For Billy in that race and he loves this trip.

He’s got no weight at all and that’s very much in his favour. That could bring him into the picture. He is probably likely to go chasing at some point.

I think both of mine will run nicely in this race without saying that I’d be disappointed if one didn’t win.

Related

Since starting out on his own, Warwickshire trainer Dan Skelton has assembled one of the most exciting stables in National Hunt racing. Having enjoyed their first Cheltenham Festival success with Superb Story in 2016, Skelton and the team are hungry for more. Get the latest from the Lodge Hill maestro exclusively at Ladbrokes News.

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